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Chill	By : kattreiya Category: Fruits Basket > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1703 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One: the distance between us
- 2-Two: don't be afraid
- 1
- 2
Chill: don�t be afraid

keiichi-kun � 2006

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DISCLAIMERS: Fruits Basket and its characters are copyright to
Natsuki Takaya, no infringement is intended through the publishing of this fan
work. I do not profit from this piece of
fiction, as this is for my own selfish enjoyment, as well as for the fans who
appreciate it.

WARNING: This
story contains lime and a copious amount of yaoi. Run away if any or both material offends
you. Otherwise, enjoy and let me know
what you think!

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~10 years ago~

�No, no stop!�
Ayame covered his ears and began wailing at the top of his voice,
clearly distressed, �Yamete �Gure-san! MOU YAMETE!�

Hatori had sneaked a wary glance from the top of the
book he was reading, down at his two (idiotic) best friends who were currently
sprawled at the foot of his bed, exchanging even more idiotic stories�or at
least, Shigure was. Hatori has been quite
successful at ignoring them for a while now, losing himself into the story he�d
been reading, grateful, as the raging storm outside helped a lot in muffling
their annoying voices. That was, until
Ayame�s anguished cries, and Hatori was jolted away from his book to look over at
his cousins.

�But I haven�t told you the best part yet,
Aya!� Shigure whined in mock complain, continuing
with his tale nonetheless, despite the Snake�s frenzied pleas, �And then the
guy felt thick liquid dripping down to his shirt, so he slowly looked up the
ceiling and recognized the scarlet color of��

It was then that a bolt of lightning, followed by a
deafening roar of thunder, chose to strike somewhere fairly near the Souma grounds,
inadvertently adding to the effect of Shigure�s dramatic story-telling.

�EEYAAAAHHH!!!�
Ayame let out an ear-splitting scream in near harmony to the clasps of
thunder, his voice cracking awkwardly due to the growing pains of puberty. Instinctively rolling himself into a ball, Ayame
crossed his arms on top of his head.

Shigure jumped up startled at the lightning as well;
but Hatori was immediately at Ayame�s side, tossing away his book without further
thought. It was almost instinct that he
throw himself at the first clear sign of Ayame�s impending bout of hysterics,
although that first outburst should�ve alerted him already. It was an accident not too long ago that
Hatori found out about Ayame�s awful fear of lightning and thunder; when he had
discovered his friend transformed into his Juunishi one night in the middle of
a fierce thunderstorm, shivering under his blankets, crying. Hatori would have found that little irony a
bit amusing, if it wasn�t an entirely nerve-racking experience for Ayame. At once, Hatori had a strong urge to stay
beside Ayame; which thus, found the quiet boy sleeping beside his friend that
first time, shushing him until his shivering had subdued, and even long after
Ayame had transformed back into his human form.

The moment he placed his arms around Ayame�s
shoulders, the Hebi clutched desperately onto Hatori, burying his face inside
the warmth of his embrace. Ayame�s tears
wet the front of his shirt but Hatori paid no mind to
it as he gently stroked his friend�s back in slow circles, rocking him gently
in his arms and whispering soothing words into his ear.

He could feel Shigure�s questioning and slightly
amused, gaze on them; watching silently as Hatori continued to placate the
other boy. His playful cousin didn�t
utter another word until Ayame�s shivers and sobs slipped to a minimum, and he,
too reached a careful hand to stroke the frightened boy�s hair.

�Gomen na, Aaya-chan,� Shigure whispered in sincere
tones, �I didn�t realize you were really upset.�

Ayame has still not released of his hold on Hatori�s
shirt, and even though it was getting a bit uncomfortable for the young Dragon�his
shirt was crumpled and wet from tears, his feet were asleep from not moving
from one position, and with the impending headache that aftermath of storms
were always giving him�Hatori dare not make the slightest shift or movement to
relax; he would not let go of Ayame, as long as it takes for Ayame to be
alright again, Hatori will never let go.
With that train of thought, Hatori unconsciously drew the smaller man
further into his embrace, just as he felt Ayame clutch at him tighter.

A sniffle and a quiet nod answered Shigure when he
uttered another apology. Hatori saw a
pained look flicker across the Dog�s features, and his early irritation at his
other cousin faded upon realization that Shigure might not have exactly known
about Ayame�s fears, and had probably thought that the Snake was merely putting
on one his dramatic acts.

�Heiki na desu, Gure-san,� came a muffled response
from somewhere near Hatori�s chest. He
looked down to watch as a puffy-eyed Ayame slowly turn his head to face
Shigure, who was sitting patiently at his side, still patting silver
tresses. Even though he couldn�t
properly see, Hatori knew the silent exchange of smiles between his two friends;
they could never really stay mad at each other, Shigure and Ayame were always a
team, a duo, and more like close brothers than just distant relatives and best
friends.

�I�ll go get you some water,� Shigure declared
moments later, a tender smile now on his usually mischievous face as he got up
to fetch his errand.

�Arigatou,� Hatori heard Ayame rasped out
gratefully. As soon as Shigure closed
the shoji, Ayame inclined his tear-streaked face to Hatori, his hands on
Hatori�s shirt loosening a bit as he looked to smile, embarrassed, at his other
friend. �You too, Tori-san. Thank you.�

It was such a gentle, almost shy, gesture that
Hatori couldn�t help the small smile that graced his lips at that moment. It was very rare that Ayame showed signs of
timidity and meekness, especially given his boisterous nature, but it never
failed to amuse Hatori. It tugged warmly
at him, knowing that he�s one of the select few who ever saw this side to the
Snake. Almost like a secret and Hatori rather liked the idea that he too, shared a special
bond with his cousin. Growing up as a
Souma would never be easy for any of them, especially growing up with having
the only one with the �special talent� that, in retrospect, may have been an
additional curse. He was simply grateful
for his cousins� company and friendship.
Ayame�s most especially, but Hatori would not be wont to admit that, of
course.

His small smile was enough for Ayame to brighten his
a notch higher, the other boy already had his faith set that Hatori would never
let him go. It was such a comforting
thought.

�Is it okay if I stay here with you for a while,
Tori-san?� Ayame asked tentatively.

To be honest, Hatori found it a tad disconcerting
this current behavior of Ayame�s, but he supposed anyone who�s ever had to face
his greatest fears would have had his personality short-circuited. He gave Ayame�s shoulder a soft squeeze
before he nodded in acquiescence, �You can sleep here tonight if you like.�

If possible, Ayame�s smile grew so much brighter, that
it was almost as if the sun suddenly popped out in the midst of the gray clouds
at that moment and cast its warm rays of light.
What was probably even more out of place though was when Hatori found
himself returning Ayame�s smile.

�Come on,� Hatori urged, as he shifted and made to
stand, drawing Ayame with him as he did so.
Unfortunately for them, the Dragon forgot about his legs that had been
deprived of proper blood circulation, so that the instant Hatori stretched, his
knees buckled from under him, making him lose his balance. It probably was a lucky thing that they were
only a foot from the bed when Hatori realized that they were about to
fall. On impulse, he wrapped his arms in
a protective embrace around the other boy�s waist as they tumbled down onto
soft mattress. Instinct, perhaps.

�Are you okay?�
Despite that it was he who fell in contact with the bed; Hatori�s first
concern was his friend. Surprise was
apparent in Ayame�s pale features, but there was mirth in his eyes when he
looked at Hatori. Ayame immediately smiled
widely and nodded, and once more, Hatori couldn�t help himself returning back a
lopsided grin.

It took another second or so before both were
suddenly aware of their compromising position: Ayame�s right arm was supporting
his balance onto the mattress, but his other hand rested on a comfortable angle
on Hatori�s chest, while the slender length of his body pressed close to his, stretching
out on top on the much taller boy.

Hatori, on the other hand, has now both his hands on
Ayame�s hips on a death grip, and was very much aware of the very close
proximity of their faces; he even felt a few strands of Ayame�s silver locks
tickle his flushed cheeks. �Oh,
uhm�� It might only have been his
imagination that both their pulses suddenly quickened.

Ayame was the first to roll over away from him; and
Hatori nearly whimpered in disappointment when the contact was lost. �Su-sumanai Tori-san,� Ayame spurted out
apologetically, color pinking his cheeks a little, but he was still smiling.

�Don�t worry
about it.� Hatori hid a smirk, schooling
his features into its usual passive expression as he quickly moved to arrange
the quilt and pillows. �Here, make
yourself comfortable on the bed.�

Ayame immediately obeyed his instructions and sunk
himself into the soft, warm bed; Hatori carefully drawing the quilt up to cover
Ayame�s slightly shivering form. He then
eased himself under the quilt, making sure that Ayame was still tucked tight, before
settling down beside his cousin. When he
had first lain down beside Ayame, Hatori thought it would be awkward and wrong,
somehow. But seeing his friend
frightened and small under the covers awakened some protective sixth sense; and
Hatori found it was more safe, nice and comfortable having Ayame sleep so
soundly beside him, after all.

Rain patted on the roof tiles above, racing down onto
the gutter to join the rest, as water continue to fall from the skies, a dull
flash of lightning illuminating through the gray once in a while. The thunderstorm did not show any sign of
giving up any time soon, but one boy did not find it as scary as before.

Somewhere under the covers of the warm blanket,
Ayame�s left hand found its way to Hatori�s right, and his thin fingers wound snugly
on the other boy�s. Hatori clasped at
them tightly, warmly; and for the nth time that night, he let his lips spread into
a slow, small smile.

~Present: currently trapped
in a cabin�~

�When did things start to change
between us Ayame?� He didn�t mean for it
to fall out from his mouth, but apparently, foolishness�and to some extent,
haplessness, seemed to have taken precedence over logic in his brain (he made
another mental note to stay away from the likes of Shigure for a while). And Hatori regretted it immediately when he sensed
Ayame cringe slightly beside him.

For a while, Hatori merely listened
to the Snake�s even breathing; he shivered occasionally still, but proved to be
much better than when they arrived at the cabin earlier. It was the only response Ayame offered him and
Hatori had almost given up, resigning himself to the
thought that the other man might have probably fallen asleep again.

�Nothing has changed between us,
Tori-san.� Ayame�s soft baritone broke
the cumbersome silence at last.

Hatori could not hide his surprise
at Ayame�s unexpected response, but even more so at the tone with which he said
it: melancholic, wistful�

�I � It was me who changed. Or rather, my feelings for you did.�

�and hopeless.

It was Hatori who cringed this time, impulsively tightening
his hold on Ayame�s bare arm. How could
Ayame say something like that as though it was his own fault for changing the
way he did? As though Ayame was almost�
sorry for loving him, that way. It was the first time that Ayame admitted
his, as he called it �changed feelings� towards Hatori with a tinge of regret
in his tone. And even if the Dragon was
to admit that never had he really given any answer to Ayame�s declarations in
the past, he still cared immensely for his friend. The sudden shift in emotions was rendering
Hatori more miserable; and left him feeling somewhat� hollow.

Perhaps caring so much wasn�t enough anymore. Perhaps their friendship was not as strong as
he thought before, and it was doing nothing else but hurt Ayame. Perhaps� perhaps it was high time that Hatori
sorted out his feelings and confront them, finally. But what did he really feel? And why was he confused in the first place?

Propping himself on his free arm, Hatori leaned onto
Ayame and nudged him to gently turn on his back towards him. His face hovered mere inches away from
Ayame�s, but the other man gave no sign of reluctance or hesitation as he met
Hatori�s cool, blue eyes. �Aaya, ore
wa��

One pale hand reached up to touch Hatori�s cheeks; he
felt as though his skin burned from that touch�a pleasant, welcoming burn, nonetheless. �I�ll always love you, Tori-san.� Ayame gave him one his brightest smiles; but
the Dragon did not miss the sadness that clouded his hazel eyes.

The logical part of his brain has probably stopped
functioning altogether at that moment as Hatori, rather detachedly, became
aware of the fact that he was slowly closing the gap between them, his lips
descending in anticipation towards Ayame�s.
He vaguely heard Ayame let out a surprised, soft gasp.

Somewhere, at the depths of his muddled brain,
Hatori supposed he could blame it on gravity.

++end part two. tsuzuku.++

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AUTHOR�S NOTES: I�m really starting to �hate- Hatori at this point� it was
supposed to end in this 2^nd installment � he won�t let me! One last chapter to conclude! Big thanks to Saku
Rose for the rushed beta�as always, nice work! Feedbacks are appreciated! Please review :)

This is for the precious person who continually inspires me to write.

This fan fiction is � copyright 2006 to keiichi-kun. All rights reserved.
Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of the
author.

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